Game board



Nov. 26, 194G.

l. R. PARIS GAME BOAR Filed Oct. 31, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l vDyer/faxflea/er V0 995 WFF I. R. PARIS GAME BOARD Nov. 26, 1940.

Filed Oct. 31, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 26, 1940 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE GAME BOARD Israel R. Paris, Washington, D. 0.Application October 31!, 1938, Serial No. 238,004

11 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to a plate or board which isemployed in association with a sheet having printed thereon cardinsignia, arranged to form the several hands of a game of bridge or anyother card game; the plate having sight openings arranged to registerwith the printed insignia so as to display the insignia through theplate. In this type of device, the sight openings have devicesassociated therewith for indicating the progress of the play of thehand, such devices being preferably arranged in the form of slidersdisposed within the sight openings, which by their position indicatewhether the particular card displayed through any sight opening has beenplayed or remains to be played. In the preferred form of this type ofdevice, the sheet bearing the printed insignia of the playing cards alsobears a number associated with each card, the numbers serving toindicate the order of play of the cards; each number thereby indicatingthe number of the trick upon which each card is played. In such devicesthe slider is made to operate so that in one position it covers thenumber but permits the display of the card arrangements. In the otherposition it covers the card and permits the display of the numberassociated with the card.

In addition, such plates or boards are also provided with means fordisplaying the process and progress of the bidding appropriate to eachhand. The sheet or sheets associated with such a board have the biddingprinted thereonin association with each hand. The board itself is Itherefore provided with means for displaying the bidding "one step at atime, so as to indicate the progress of the bidding.

The plate also contains a device for indicating the tricks taken by thetwo opposing sides of the game and should also contain some other meansto display other information which appears printed on the sheetassociated therewith.

It is the object of the present invention to simplify the constructionof this type of playing board so as to reduce the cost of manufacture ofthe same, and also to so construct the playing board or plate so as tofacilitate and reduce the expense involved in the assembly of the largenumber of elements that enter into the construction.

Another object 'of the invention is .to provide a plate or board of thetype above described which is substantially rigid and still simple inconstruction, presenting an attractive appearance and which may be madeto register with the printed sheet with great facility and substantialaccuracy.

A further object of the invention is to provide a book whether in looseleaf form or otherwise in which'each leaf or page hasa bridge game ordeal printed thereon and discussed, the book also having associatedtherewith a plate suitably slotted to display the card insigniatherethrough, the plate also carrying movable devices to indicatewhether any given card has been played or remains to be played and whichgenerally aid in indicating the progress of the game.

In the drawings: v

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my game board secured to the cover of a book.

Fig.2 is an edge view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the board secured tow the pages of a book.

Fig. 4 is a plan View .of the board secured in a looseleaf type of book.

. Fig. 5 is asection on line 55 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the sliders.

Fig. 8 is a partial planview of a slightly modified form of board andFig. 9 is a view showing the blank of the plate illustrated in Fig. 8. I

vention disclosed herein havefor one of their essential features thatthey are constructed of a single sheet of suitable material .such asmetal or the like and that the slots or sight openings are so disposedin the sheet that the sliders may be inserted intothes'e slots or sightopenings with great facility and by an extremely simple manipulation.While these boards are preferably made of a sheet of metal of suitablegauge or thickness, they may obviously be made of any other suitablematerial. a

- In both forms of the invention shown herein, the marginal portions ofthe board are provided with one or two additional layers of metal. Inone form of the invention, these additional layers are continuous withtheoriginal metal sheet of which the board is made and are merely foldedor orimped over to yield the structure shown. In the other form of theinvention, this reinforced material takes on the form of a folded overstrip which is hammered onto. themarginal portions of the slotted sheet.In both cases, these reinforcements serve in' the first instance thefunction of properly closing the endsv of the slots or sight openingsafter the sliders have been assembled in such slots, and thesereinforcements also serve to lendrigidity to the board.

Referring now to the form shown in Fig. 1, the boa d Comprises a flatand relatively thin metal I .5 The boards shown in both forms of thein-.

sheet or a sheet of any other suitable material such as cardboard or thelike H], which is provided with slots or sight openings l I, which itwill be seen extend all the way out to the edge of the sheet It], sothat these slots or sight openings I I may be spoken of as open-ended,and are separated from each other by the partitions 2. These rows ofslots H are disposed as shown alongthe outer edges of the substantiallyoblong sheet ID,-

the number of slots in each row depending upon the nature of the game inwhich the board is to be employed.

In addition to the openings II which aredesigned to permit the displayof printed card insignia are numbers associated with such insignia,

the board or plate I I] also has other. openings together with suitabledevices for thedisplayof other printed information that appears on' thesame sheet which bears the card insignia.

Such printed information may comprise the bids made by each hand. Forthis purpose, a circular series of punched out openings I3 is disposedimmediately adjacent each row of slots ll, these being covered by acentrallypivoted disc l4 whichhas one opening I 5v for successiveregistry with the openings 13. It will be understood that the printedsheet which is to be employed in association with the present playingboard will have the bids will be disposed in registry with the openingsthe sheet is put inregistry with the board, such bids will be disposedin registry-with the openings l3. The disc I4 may then be moved firstinto registry With'the first one of the openings [3 so as to display thefirst bid and then it may be moved successively'with the remainingopenings 'so as to display the bids successively. In addition, the plateIn also bears the centrally pivoted discs l6 whichbear numbers on theirmarginal portions designed to cooperate with the pointers I! for thepurpose of keeping score of the progress of the game. The plate also hasthe openings l8 and H] which are designed to display additional data butmay be printed on the printed sheet associated therewith, such asanindication of the dealer and other information about the game."

The sliders 20 employed in the present invention'are illustrated in Fig.7 and comprise the main body portion 21 and theupstanding ears 22, oneat each end thereof, each ear having the cut out portions 23 asshow'n.The width of the slider is greater than the width'of the openings ll, sothat when inserted in'such openings the main body portion 2! overlaps oneach side of the opening onto the partitions l2. The width, however, issuch that the sliders are free of each other and do notengage each otherwhen installed and separated. The main body portion 2| of the slider ispreferablybowed upwardly as shown, with the result that they engage thepartitions l2 with substantial friction and for that reason willmaintain their positions.

It will now'be understood that when the plate Hl'has open-ended slots orsight openings II disposed in the marginal portions of the plate, itbecomes a simple matter to insert the sliders 20 so thatthe bodyportions 2| of such sliders are disposed on one side of the plate whilethe "ears 22 are all exposed on the upper side of the plate so as .topermit the ready manipulation of such sliders. v f I After all of thesliders have been assembled with the plate, then the channel-shapedelements 25are' placed over themarginal portions of the plate In so asto close the ends of the sight openbe employed for this purpose, such assolder or the like, thereby finishing the total assembly. Thechannel-shaped elements 25 may overlap each other at the corners for thepurpose of imparting to the board a greater degree of rigidity.

The underside of the channel-shaped portions 25 also serves as a spacerso that the board when it rests on the sheet has its main body portionspaced from the sheet so as to permit free movement of the s1iders2fl.For this purpose, it may .also be desired that the sliders 20 be made ofa gauge of metal which is somewhat thinner than the metal of which theboard I0 is made, or the metal of which the channel portions 25 aremade.

The form of the invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9-will be best understoodby first referring to Fig. 9. Plate 33, substantially oblong in shape,is cut'so that it is provided with'a small cut out corner portion 3|.The sight openings 32 are'cut' to approximately the shape shown, in thatthey are each'provided with an enlargement 33 at the end adjacent themargin of the plate 30. The enlargement 33 is designed so that it mayreadily receive one of the ears 22 of the sliders 23. The dotted lines34 indicate the marginal portions 35 and constitute the folding line forportions 35. In the preferred construction, the slots 32 together withthe enlargements 33 should preferably be spaced from the fold line 34.With the plate 30 in this form, the sliders 20 may be readily insertedby manipulating the same on the back of the plate by firstinserting theear Z2 and pushing the slide along so that the openings 23 ride on thepartitions 36, this being followed immediately by pressing the other ear22 similarly intothe enlargement 33 and pushing the slide forward sothat all the openings 23' ride on the partitions 36. After all of theslides 23 have been assembled in the way described with the board, thenthe marginal portions 35 are folded over onto the front face of theplate as is shown in Fig. 8. This portion 35-serves to reinforce theplate, to render the same substantially rigid, and to close off theenlargements of the slots. The portions 35 should preferably be presseddown in such a manner that its upper face is approximately in the planewith the upper face of the main body portion of the plate 30 therebydisplacing the marginal portion on the lower face somewhat below thelevel of the lower face of the plate 30, for the purpose of giving thesliders some freedom of movement between the plate 30 and the printedsheets with which the plates are to be used.

As has already been set forth in my copending Patent 2,135,411 the gameboard may be-employed in combination with 'a book having the desireddata printed on the pages of the book. Thus Figures 1, 2 and 3 show agame board, which although illustrated herein as of a construction morespecifically disclosed herein,.may of course be of a constructiondisclosedin the said patent, associated with the conventionally boundbook and Fig. 4 shows such a board associated with a loose leaf book.

For use in a loose leaf book the game board l0 may have two or moreopenings 42 along one edge or along two parallel edges, these openingsserving to engage the-customary looseleaf ring Instead of a loose leafbook, a customary-bound book may be employed. The board'when soemployedmay be provided with'a spring 46 at the top and bottom edge whichwill'serve to grip the upper and lower edges' of'the cover 48 of thebook 50. The same springwill serve to grip lightly the assembled sheetsin the bookwhen the board is employed against a page of the book, toproperly locate the'board andprevent it'from sliding on the page. beprovided with a flexible hinge 52 which attaches one edge of the boardto the lower cover and the board is thereby permanently associated withthe book.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A device of the class described comprising a substantiallyrectangular plate having openended elongated openings in its marginalportions, a partitioning strip between adjacent openings, a slidedisposed in each of such openings and carried by the adjacentpartitioning strips, and a substantially rigid flattened channel shapedmetallic member disposed along each edge of said board enclosing andgripping the ends of the partitions and serving to close the ends of theopenings and to impart rigidity to the board.

2. A device of the class described comprising a board having asubstantially rectangular main body portion, said body portion having a-plurality of elongated openings disposed in its marginal portions, saidopenings having enlargements at their outer ends, slides carried by theboard slidable within such openings, and a folded over marginal portionwhich serves to close the enlargements in the openings, saidenlargements serving to facilitate the insertion of the slides into theopenings before folding the marginal portion.

3. A game board having a plurality of through sight openings forcooperation with a sheet bear- 40 ing printed data in registry with saidopenings,

said board comprising a substantially rectangular main body portion madeof relatively flexible material and having elongated openings disposedin its marginal portions, the longer dimension of 45 such openings beingdisposed perpendicularly to the adjacent edge, partitioning stripsdisposed between adjacent openings, sliders disposed in said openingsand carried by the adjacent partitioning strips, and substantiallyrigid, flattened,

longitudinally folded, metal parts carried by said board on the edgesthereof serving to close the ends of the elongated openings and torender the board substantially rigid.

4. In combination a book, a plate constituting 55 a cover for the book,said plate having dimensions approximating the dimensions of the leavesof the book and being removable from the cover position and insertibleinto the book in association with a leaf thereof, means for retainingthe 60 plate in position within the book and fixedly with relation to aselected leaf thereof, said plate having a multiplicity of sightopenings permitting the display of printed data on the leaf of the book,said plate also having sliders operable 65 to cover or display some ofsaid printed data.

5. In combination a loose leaf book, means holding said loose leavestogether, a rigid cover plate for said book having dimensionsapproximating the dimensions of the leaves of the book and havingopenings engaged by said means for holding said cover plate in position,said cover plate having a multiplicity of sight openings for display ofprinted data on the leaves of the book, said plate also having slidesselectively to display 75 or cover some of said printed data, wherebysaid If desired, the board may plate may be removed from the coverposition and insertedin any other portion of the book for, associationof said plate with the printed da-ta'on any page thereof.

6. In combination, a book, a plate having .dimensions approximating thedimensions of the leaves 'of the book and insertible into the book inassociation with any leaf thereof, said plate having a plurality ofsight openings for the display of printed insignia on-the leaf ofthebook, slider'soperable' in said sight openings to cover ordisplay-said insignia as desired, flexible means connecting one edge ofthe plate to an edge of a cover, and a resilient clip carried by atleast one other edge of the plate for engagement with the book to retainsaid plate in position in said book to maintain registry between saidsight openings and the insignia.

7. A book for self instruction in the game of bridge, said bookcomprising, as an integral element thereof, a plate having dimensionsapproximating the dimensions of the leaves of the book and having fourgroups of openings disposed along the sides of a square, the leaves ofsaid book each bearing a set of playing card insignia arranged similarlyto said openings along the four sides of a square to form the four handsof a bridge game, said plate and book having detachably cooperatingmeans for adjustably and fixedly positioning the plate within the bookto overlie any desired leaf to display the bridge game thereon throughsaid openings, and slides carried by said plate in each opening movableto cover or display the insignia and to indicate whether the card hasbeen played. H

8. A book for self instruction in the game of bridge, the book having apair of covers and leaves bearing playing card insignia arranged to formthe four hands of a bridge game; in combination with a plate ofsubstantially the same size as the leaves and having a plurality ofsight openings for the display of said insignia therethrough, said plateand book having cooperating means for removably fixedly positioning theplate within the book in a position to overlie any desired leaf and tohold the same in a position to obtain registry between its sightopenings and said insignia, and two-position indicators carried by saidplate adjacent each opening to indicatethe progress of the game.

9. A loose leaf book for self instruction in the game of bridge, thebook having leaves bearing playing card insignia arranged along the foursides of a square to form the four hands of a bridge game and ringsholding said leaves in suitable assembly; in combination with a platehaving four groups of sight openings similarly disposed along the sidesof a square for registry with said insignia, and a slide in each openingmovable to cover or display the insignia to indicate whether the cardhas been played, the plate having marginal openings for engagement withthe rings for adjustably, removably posiwith said insignia, and a slidein each opening movable to cover ordisplay the insignia to indicatewhether the-card has been played, the plate having marginal openings ineach of two parallel edges, the openings being spaced in registry withthe binding rings, and serving for selective engagement with the ringsfor adjustably, remov-' ably' positioning the plate Within the book tooverlie either side of any desired leaf 'to display the .bridgegamethereon through said openings.

- 11., In combination, a loose leaf book, a rigid cover plate for saidbook having dimensions approximating the dimensions of the leaves of thebook, means holding said loose leaves and said cover plate in bookassembly, said loose leaves bearing playing card insignia arranged alongthe four sides of a square to form the four hands of a bridge game, saidcover plate having four groups of sight openings similarly disposedalong the sides of a square for registry with said insignia, a slide ineach opening movable to cover or display the insignia to indicate by itsposition whether the card has been played, whereby said plate and anydesired leaf may be associated to display the bridge game thereonthrough said openings.

ISRAEL R. PARIS.

